Ronda Rousey drops out of SI.com’s pound-for-pound rankings after loss

Holly Holm is not only a UFC champion but apparently also a magician. Her fistic sleight of hand on Saturday night made Ronda Rousey disappear from the SI.com pound-for-pound fighter rankings. Abracadabra.

Never before has mixed martial arts seen a downfall so stunningly dramatic. Fighters losing possession of championship belts and being dislodged from rankings are natural occurrences in the tidal rise and fall of the sport. But Rousey walked into the octagon over the weekend as a superstar celebrity who had transcended her sport and the entire sports world like no one in MMA before her. And she had set herself apart even more spectacularly in previous trips inside the cage, where she’d made quick work of every woman set in front of her.

In the days since that aura of invincibility was smashed to bits, Rousey has been the object of ridicule in the cesspool that is the Internet, in part because that’s what the masses log on to do. But most pointedly, the scornful flood that’s washed over “Rowdy Ronda” seems to be a perverse response to the arrogance and disrespect she has shown over the years, most recently in the final leadup to the Holm fight. What goes around comes around.

We don’t take that back. Prior to Saturday night, Rousey (12–1) had barely broken a sweat in disposing of her competition. When a fighter is winning in 16 seconds, 14 seconds, and 34 seconds, as she did in the three most recent title defenses leading up to Holm, and those bouts are against the best 135-pound challengers the UFC can muster up, where else does she belong other than at the top of the heap?

But she no longer belongs. Holm (10–0) exposed shortcomings in Rousey’s game that previously had been invisible, or at least had not shown themselves in the mere seconds—barely competitive seconds—she would spend inside the cage each few months. The ferocity of her judo was a smokescreen.

That judo is still ferocious. Unless this knockout has damaged her psyche beyond a split lip, Rousey remains an elite fighter. She has beaten several of the women ranked below her, and can do it again. With the right training and game-planning, she can defeat Holm, too. Maybe.

Holm had never before been the fighter we saw on Saturday night. Her two previous UFC bouts were victories by decision, and neither led anyone to declare her a Rousey conqueror in waiting. Her sharp punches and slick footwork seemed capable of fending off Rousey for a bit, but with no power punch in her arsenal, she was thought to be a sitting duck for an eventual clinch, then takedown, then submission.

But Holm defended well when the fighters came to grips, avoided an armbar when the bout went to the canvas, and even had a table-turning takedown of her own. And when the fight was standing, it was like watching a professional toy with an amateur. The difference-maker wasn’t simply that the striking of Holly Holm, a multiple time world champion in boxing, was so good. It also had to do with Ronda Rousey’s standup being strikingly bad.

So now it’s back to the drawing board for Rousey, and on to the next masterpiece for Holm.

Hunt made quick work of a fading “Bigfoot” Silva over the weekend, but there’s no room for upward mobility, so he stays put. That might change soon, though, since Dos Santos and Overeem meet next month and Miocic and Arlovski clash on the UFC’s New Year’s show. (Still no date for Werdum vs. Velasquez II.)

UFC 194 will define the hierarchy, as easy as 1-2-3-4, when Weidman defends his title against Rockhold and Souza tussles with Romero. More immediately, Whittaker has jumped in for the first time, on the strength of a win over previous No. 10 Uriah Hall.

What are we hearing? That Georges St-Pierre is in training and set to do a weight cut? And if all goes well, he’ll make a comeback? GSP exited the sport in the most badass way—as a champion—but it’s hard not to be excited by the possibility of seeing him in the octagon again.

Another sad (temporary) goodbye to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was scheduled to return from a 20-month absence next month but suffered another injury. So after dos Anjos defends his belt against Cerrone next month, who’ll be at the head of the line of challengers? Henderson, the former champ, might now be sorry he took a welterweight fight at the end of this month.

Hmm, anything happening with the 145-pounders? Well, only the start of a four-man tournament of sorts, as Aldo vs. McGregor finally takes place on Dec. 12, one day after Edgar vs. Mendes. Fasten seat belts.

It’s not often that we say the 125-pounders are at a standstill. But with Benavidez loitering in no-man’s land and Dodson looking to bantamweight for his next step, Johnson is left playing a waiting game for his next challenge. Cejudo?

It’s surreal to see anyone but Rousey at the top of this list, but Holm—who was way down at No. 9 last month—sure earned her place. She also put the rest of the Top 10 on double alert: There’s a new boss in town, and the old boss can be taken out after all.

Like Holm, Letourneau was No. 9 last month. Unlike Holm, Letourneau lost over the weekend. But look where she is now. That’s what happens when you give the champion a better fight than anyone expected.

With Ronda Rousey having been dislodged from her No. 2 perch, everyone below moves up a notch and the conqueror moves in. Tough call between Holm and strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but the new bantamweight belt holder gets rewarded for pulling off the biggest upset in UFC history.

More MMA

We've Got Apps Too

Get expert analysis, unrivaled access, and the award-winning storytelling only SI can provide - from Peter King, Tom Verducci, Lee Jenkins, Seth Davis, and more - delivered straight to you, along with up-to-the-minute news and live scores.